Somewhere Only We Know
by xblessthefall
Summary: Tragedy forces the McKinley brothers to enroll at Dalton Academy. It seems that someone has unfinished business with Kurt Hummel- fortunately, he seems to have acquired an army of blazer-clad bodyguards somewhere along the way. Kurtbastian, AU
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: As of this moment, this fiction is being labeled as Sebastian/Kurt- though Sebastian won't show up until a few chapters into the story. However, the pairing may be subject to change. There will also be minor hints of Klaine, especially during the introductory chapters.

**EDIT 5/24/12 **This story is officially, permanently Kurtbastian. Ignore the above comments. :)

Please be aware that this story is an AU, so facts and events detailed may not line up with those on the show.

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere Only We Know<strong>

Chapter One

"Hold up," Finn interjected boredly, stepping forward to where his teammates were fixing to hoist Kurt into a nearby dumpster.

Kurt felt a brief flare of hope as his step-brother closed the distance between them. However, that hope was short lived as Finn held out his hand expectantly, expression never flickering from one of bored disinterest.

Kurt understood the gesture and did nothing to fight a sigh. He jerked his arms away from the meatheads holding him and straightened with as much dignity as he could muster before he quickly shrugged out of his sweater. He ignored the snickers from the football players surrounding him as best he could as he handed the garment to Finn, jaw set and eyes challenging.

Finn hardly spared him a glance before he took the sweater and balled it up under his arm, stepping back and nodding to his teammates. "Okay."

With the quarterback's permission, the two oafs on either side of Kurt wasted no time in grabbing him once more and swinging him unceremoniously into the dumpster.

The sound of their laughter echoed in the metallic bin as Kurt sputtered, trying to catch his balance and push himself out of the trash that had cushioned his fall. He grimaced at the familiar smell of rotting food and did his best to hold his breath until the sound of laughter drifted away, signaling the departure of the jocks. Only then did he begin to try and find his footing on the bags of trash beneath him.

"Kurt?"

He glanced up at the sound of his name. A second later a face was peering over the edge of the dumpster.

Kurt fought a sigh.

"Mr. Schuester," he acknowledged begrudgingly, letting his gaze fall to his feet as he tried to figure out the best way to climb from the garbage bin.

"Here, let me help you," the teacher quickly offered, stepping closer to the bin and hoisting himself up slightly so he could reach into the dumpster and offer Kurt a hand up. The younger boy took the offered hand and let his teacher pull him from the trash bin.

As Kurt regained his footing, he glanced up reluctantly at his glee club teacher as he went about dusting off his clothing. "Thanks, Mr. Schue," he offered glumly.

Schuester's face was twisted in concern. "What happened, Kurt? The football team again?"

"It's really no big deal, Mr. Schuester," Kurt cut in as he fought another sigh. He cast a quick glance around and noticed his sweater hanging from a nearby bicycle rack and moved to retrieve it. He was doing his best to ignore his teacher's concerned gaze.

"Kurt," Schuester began gently, his eyes following the teen as Kurt haughtily pulled his sweater back on, hands smoothing over the expensive material to chase away imaginary wrinkles. "Maybe it's time you talked to Figgins about this."

"I can handle it," he replied tersely. Kurt didn't even glance up at the Spanish teacher.

Schuester's gaze softened. "You shouldn't have to."

Still, Kurt didn't meet his gaze. "I'm going to be late for homeroom. Can I go?" He shifted his hold on his bag, looking anywhere but at the older man.

After a strained moment of hesitation, Schuester just nodded helplessly.

Kurt felt the teacher's eyes on his back as he made his way across the now-deserted courtyard, but he didn't look back or allow his steps to slow.

* * *

><p>Mercifully, the rest of Kurt's day passed without event. Well, give or take a slushie facial between third and fourth period, of course- but that hardly even rated as out of the norm for Kurt Hummel these days.<p>

In any case, the day was over, and he could think of nothing more appealing than putting as much distance between himself and McKinley High School as possible.

"So are we on for tonight or what, Kurt?" Rachel demanded, shouldering her bag and brushing her hair behind her ear as she struggled to keep up with Kurt's longer stride.

Kurt tilted his head in consideration. "I suppose. I don't really have anything better to do."

The tiny brunette wasn't put off by Kurt's glum response. "Excellent! The show starts at seven. If we leave here no later than five we should be able to make it in time to claim our usual seats. Text me when you get home with what you're wearing- there's no way that I'm letting you outdress me again, Kurt Hummel. "

Her eyes narrowed playfully as she fixed him with a sideways glance.

"Rachel, I could outdress you if I were to get dressed in the dark." His tone was flat, but he is fighting a smirk when the small brunette smacks his arm predictably.

"That's simply a matter of opinion," Rachel sniffed, though she too is grinning.

This earned a snort of amusement from Kurt, but he managed to fight the urge to roll his eyes as he simply nodded agreeably.

Rachel spotted her car and patted his abused arm lightly, flashing him another grin. "I'll see you in a bit, Kurt."

"Later, lady." Kurt bade. He shook his head and closed the remaining distance between himself and his Navigator.

His steps slowed as he neared.

Even from the few feet away from his car, he could see that there was something waiting for him in the front seat of the vehicle. His body tensed in apprehension as he forced himself to close the remaining distance between himself and the Navigator. Dread was heavy in his stomach as he peered through the driver's window.

"Kurt! Hey, hold up a second."

Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin as Mr. Schuester called to him across the courtyard. He spun away from the car, eyes impossibly wide, and watched as the Spanish teacher dodged his way across the bustling parking lot.

"Mr. Schue." He stammered, mentally cursing himself for the way that his voice shook as he spoke.

Schuester frowned as he neared Kurt, his steps slowing as he took in the younger man's appearance. He came to a stop in front of Kurt and carefully placed a hand on the teen's shoulder, ducking his head slightly in an attempt to read Kurt's expression.

Kurt casually ran a hand over his bangs to avoid meeting Schuester's eyes.

"Are you alright, Kurt?"

The concern in the teacher's voice made Kurt's stomach turn. He forced his expression into one of bewilderment and hoped it didn't come off as too strained. "Of course. What's up, Mr. Schue?"

The teacher regarded him a moment longer, then, fighting a sigh, Schuester tilted his head back towards the school. "Can you spare a minute?"

Kurt frowned slightly in confusion but nodded nonetheless. "Sure."

Mr. Schuester offered Kurt one of his 'Please Don't Notice that I'm Up to Something" smiles and, with a hand on Kurt's shoulder, turned them both to head back towards the school.

Kurt went along without comment, his hands stuffed deep within the pockets of his peacoat.

He willingly listened to Schuester's rambling if only in an effort to forget about the single rose awaiting him in the front seat of his Navigator.

* * *

><p>"Finn. I can't believe-"<p>

Burt didn't give Carole a chance to finish. "I thought you were better than this, Finn." He snapped, his hand resting heavily on Kurt's shoulder. The mechanic stood behind his seated son, one hand on Kurt's shoulder and the other gripping the back of the boy's chair tightly. His eyes were fixed angrily on the teen sitting on his son's other side.

Finn, for his part, was staring at Schuester's desk with wide, bewildered eyes. He rubbed his hands together uncomfortably. "I-"

"It's not a big deal, dad." Kurt interjected gently, sitting stiffly in his own chair. His legs were crossed and his chin lifted as he worked to look as aloof as he could given the situation.

Burt was having none of it. "Not a big- Kurt, you could'a been hurt." He swung his glare back to Finn. "You have any idea what could'a been in that dumpster, Finn? Did you even stop to consider that? What if Kurt had landed on broken glass and _really_ gotten hurt?"

"-I didn't think about it. I'm sorry!" Finn stammered quickly, glancing shiftily between his mom and Burt.

Carole simply stood between the boys' chairs, her arms folded and mouth pulled into a grim line of disapproval.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it, Finn," Burt retorted flatly, squeezing Kurt's shoulder in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. It only made Kurt flinch at the increased pressure. "You two are brothers now- and _brothers_ don't treat each other like that."

Carole put a hand on Burt's arm and glanced between her husband and son. "Burt, enough. This isn't the place."

Burt glanced at Carole, deliberating a moment before nodding grimly.

Will Schuester shifted in his seat, leaning forward and looking between Kurt and Finn thoughtfully. His expression was grim when he finally spoke. "I can't just overlook seeing a student get thrown into a dumpster, Finn." He fixed the quarterback with a stern look. "So- you'll be serving detention with me for the rest of the week."

Carole opened her mouth as if to protest but held back her words by covering her mouth with her hand. She managed a nod.

Finn's eyes were fixed on his hands. "-I'm really sorry, mom."

Since they'd been called into the office, Finn hadn't even chanced a glance at Kurt. Not that Kurt minded, particularly. The entire situation was humiliating enough.

The Spanish teacher spoke again. "If you guys don't mind, I'd like to speak to your parents in private for a minute." He glanced between the two teens.

That was all the urging Kurt needed. He stood smoothly and shouldered his messenger bag, not looking at anyone as he made his way from Schuester's office. The heavy, clumsy steps behind him told Kurt that Finn had followed him.

They hadn't made it ten steps out of the office before Finn put a hand on Kurt's shoulder and turned him to face him, the movement gentle enough but insistent. Kurt allowed himself to be turned resignedly.

"Hey, man. I didn't-" Finn fumbled for words. "We weren't trying to hurt you. I wouldn't have let them dump you if I'd thought you could have gotten hurt from it."

Kurt smiled tightly, the tilt of his lips completely false.

"Forget it, Finn," he responded tonelessly. "Let's just go wait outside."

Finn wasn't one to be shaken so easily. He caught up with Kurt, his longer legs making it easier for him to close the distance between them, and fell into step next to the smaller boy as they made their way across the mostly deserted parking lot. Thankfully, though, the quarterback seemed at a loss for words.

They made it to Carole's van, where they waited for their parents in silence.

* * *

><p>Kurt slid his backpack from the passenger seat of the Navigator just as his father pulled into the driveway with Carole and Finn in tow. Kurt waited until Burt had eased the van past him before stepping back and closing his door.<p>

A flash of red from the back seat of the Navigator caught Kurt's eye, but he stubbornly ignored it. He turned and made his way to the house as Burt climbed out of the driver's seat of Carole's van.

"Alright, boys. We're home. Time to talk," Burt announced as he closed his own door.

Kurt was quick to object. "Actually, I'm already running late, Dad," he glanced at Carole beseechingly as she moved around the van to stand next to Burt. "I'm supposed to meet Rachel in half an hour- we're going out."

Finn was hesitating on the steps leading to the garage door, unsure whether or not he was supposed to head up to his room or wait for Burt's intended lecture.

Kurt wasn't above turning on the puppy-eyes as he pouted his lower lip. "Please, Dad? Can it wait until tomorrow?"

He was already beaming when Burt sighed defeat. He flung his arms around Burt's shoulders before the older man could even nod his consent.

Burt returned the hug begrudgingly, though he pulled back enough to give Kurt a square look. "You call me when you get there, alright? None of that texting junk- you know I'll never notice it."

Kurt waved a hand dismissively as he stepped back and reshouldered his messenger bag. "I know the routine. Thanks, Dad." He smiled quickly and paused to kiss Carole's cheek before bolting up the stairs to pack.

Carole watched him go with a fond smile, but was quick to sober. She cut her eyes over to where Finn still stood hesitating just outside of the door leading inside. "Go put your stuff up, honey, then come back down- Burt and I want to talk to you."

Finn's jaw squared but he nodded nonetheless. His pace was much more sedated than Kurt's as he made his way inside.

Burt punched out a sigh and adjusted his cap. He let himself lean into Carole as she hugged him from the side, her eyes on her son's back as Finn disappeared inside the house.

* * *

><p>Kurt had just finished packing his bag when a knock sounded from the top of the stairs. He glanced at his doorway over his shoulder, spotting Finn hovering awkwardly on the second step.<p>

He turned his back to Finn, surveying his room for anything he might have forgotten to pack. His jaw set audibly.

"C'mon, man. Just let me say something." Finn grumbled, no longer waiting for permission before descending the remaining stairs to Kurt's room. He stopped on the bottom stair and folded his arms. He refused to even look in Kurt's direction, now.

"I'm… really sorry about what went down at school earlier." He paused. "It wasn't cool. And Burt's right, we're-"

"Don't." Kurt snapped, cutting Finn's bumbling apology short. "I don't have time for this right now, Finn. I have plans."

Finn scowled. "Dude, I'm just trying to-"

"Make things right?" Kurt sneered, shouldering his bag and stalking towards the steps. He didn't miss how the motion caused Finn to fall back a couple of steps warily. "Well you can start by getting over this irrational fear of yours that I'm going to somehow- I don't know, _rub_ the _gay_ off on you."

He shouldered past Finn, nearly unbalancing himself in the process.

"My sexuality isn't contagious, Finn. But I'm going to leave before we figure out whether or not your inability to form a coherent thought _is_."

And with that, Kurt left Finn gaping on the stairway as he made his way into the kitchen.

Little did Kurt know that those scathing words would be the last that he would speak to his step-brother.

* * *

><p>Blaine was having an abnormally busy morning-even by Dalton standards.<p>

He had started the morning off with a Student Senate meeting bright and early, after which he had been forced to all but sprint across campus to get to morning soccer practice. After practice and a lightning fast shower in the locker rooms, Blaine found himself once again making his way across Dalton's vast campus, this time heading for the Dean's office.

He was set to meet with two new transfers at 8 o'clock and give them a tour of the grounds, then get them settled into their dorms and safely in their first classes by 10.

It was currently 8:15. Blaine was running a bit late.

He was all but out of breath by the time he reached the Dean's office, so he took a moment to straighten his tie and smooth out his uniform jacket while he caught his breath. It wouldn't do for the transfers' first impression of the Dalton student body to be a sweaty and panting boy in a rumpled blazer.

Once composed, Blaine knocked lightly on the Dean's door. A second later, he heard a deep voice beckon him to enter, and he quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

The Dean's office was quite crowded. There was an older man standing closest to Blaine, wearing a faded flannel shirt and worn baseball cap and looking completely out of place inside of Dalton's hallowed halls. A petite woman stood at his elbow, her arm linked in the older man's, and she seemed to be having a quiet argument with the towering teen who stood in front of her.

The abnormally tall boy was frowning at the woman (presumably his mother, judging by the resemblance between the pair) and his lowered words were rushed. If that wasn't enough to convince Blaine that the two were having a dispute of sorts, the way that the man in the ball cap turned his attention to the pair and hushed the towering teen certainly did. Blaine politely adverted his eyes.

This was how he spotted the second boy. The other teen was standing off to the side while the rest of his family argued, his hands clasped lightly behind his back, which was facing Blaine. The other boy's attention, it seemed, was fixed on something outside of the window he stood before.

The Dean cleared his throat then, drawing Blaine's attention to the man seated behind the desk.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, I'd like to introduce Blaine Anderson- one of Dalton's finest." Blaine had the grace to blush at the pride in the older man's voice. He dutifully took a step forwards at the introduction and offered the Hummels a charming smile as he extended his hand while the Dean continued to speak. "He'll be the one showing your boys around the school today and seeing to it that they're all settled in."

The man in the ballcap turned to Blaine and gave him a quick once over before shaking his hand. "Burt Hummel." He offered gruffly, giving a slight quirk of his lips as he adjusted his hat with his spare hand. When he released Blaine's hand he gestured to the small woman at his side. "And this is my wife, Carole."

Blaine shook Carole's hand as well, smile widening slightly at the blush he noticed staining the woman's cheeks as he took her hand.

Carole glanced back at Finn, still smiling a bit dazedly and still holding on to Blaine's hand. "This is my son, Finn."

Finn's hands remained shoved firmly in his jean pockets. He nodded at Blaine in acknowledgement, his expression not entirely unfriendly- but not quite welcoming, either. Blaine simply returned the nod in kind as he released Carole's hand.

"Kurt, come over here," Burt instructed with a wave towards the other boy.

Blaine glanced back in time to see the other boy turn, and he prayed that his expression didn't betray his surprise as he took in the teen's appearance for the first time.

The boy was slight, maybe even smaller than Blaine himself, and his frame was hugged by a simple gray sweater that was tailored to fit him like a glove. The gray of the sweater brought out the liquid steel of his eyes and accented the porcelain of his skin, and the black jeans the teen wore had to have been painted on. His hair, as everything else about the boy, was perfectly sculpted without a russet strand out of place.

Blaine realized he was still staring when gray eyes began to regard him curiously.

He cleared his throat and offered his hand once more.

"My son, Kurt," Burt supplied.

Blaine perhaps held this handshake a beat too long, distracted the moment Kurt accepted his hand to shake lightly. "I'm Blaine," he reiterated unnecessarily. "Rumor has it that I'll be showing you around the campus today."

The teen's lips tipped in a reluctant half-smile.

Burt clapped his hands together and cleared his throat. "Well, that's that." Blaine actually jumped guiltily at the sudden noise and took an unnecessary step away from Kurt before turning to face the older man. "I guess you three can head off while we finish up here?"

The question in the statement was directed at the Dean, who nodded in confirmation.

Kurt brushed past Blaine in a smooth movement and flung his arms around his father in a tight hug- one that was immediately returned. Burt hugged his son tight enough to lift Kurt's feet off of the ground slightly. It made Blaine smile fondly, even as Kurt harmlessly swatted his father's shoulder in reprimand.

Finn was hugging his mother, once again some sort of quiet conversation passing between the two, before he reluctantly released her and nodded morosely. Carole put a hand to her son's cheek and offered him a watery smile before moving to wish her other son goodbye. She smacked Burt's arm lightly when he still refused to let go of Kurt, and the small family shared a laugh when Burt begrudgingly released Kurt from the bear hug- only to snatch Finn in one in the smaller brother's stead.

Kurt readily hugged Carole, still shaking his head at his father's antics. Blaine politely adverted his eyes when he noticed that the pair was growing teary eyed. Instead, he took the chance to get both transfers' files from the Dean so that Blaine actually knew where he would be taking the brothers. He glanced over the information in both folders, and by the time he was finished with that, the family had finished their goodbyes.

Burt pointed at Blaine and gave him a grave look. "You take care of my boys, kid," he commanded, voice even gruffer than before.

Blaine offered a small smile of understanding. "I will, sir."

Burt nodded and squeezed Kurt's shoulder a final time before he and Carole moved to take the two seats in front of the Dean's desk, and Blaine turned to the two transfers that were now under his care. His gaze softened sympathetically when he noted that Kurt looked like he was proudly fighting tears, while Finn was once more staring blankly at his shoes.

"Alright, let's head out," he offered jovially, tucking the files he'd procured under his arm as he opened the Dean's door and gestured the brothers ahead. He waited until both had filed past him before exiting himself and pulling the door shut once more. "We'll start by checking out the grounds, then we'll get you both settled into your dorms. If we make good time, you might even have enough time before your first class to wander around a bit on your own."

He glanced back at Kurt and offered a sympathetic quirk of his lips. "Sound good?"

The brunette punched out an breath before nodding, shoulders pulling back in a false bravado. He moved to follow Blaine.

The tour took twice the amount of time as was usual, and rather than having extra time afterwards, Blaine in fact barely managed to get the two transfers to their respective classes on time at all. He was actually late to his own 10 o'clock class, but luckily the professor was already aware that Blaine would be escorting the new students around campus, and as such didn't comment on his late arrival.

Still, as Blaine sat through his Ancient Roman History lecture, he found his thoughts drifting inevitably back to the boy with the stunning gray eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

That day, lunch at Dalton was interesting to say the least.

By the time that Blaine arrived to the student union, it seemed that the entire school had heard news of the two new transfer students. The excited buzz of the boys in the lunch room was particularly loud as many of them speculated or gossiped about the "McKinley Brothers."

As Blaine carried his tray of food over to his usual table, he glanced around the lunch room in search of Dalton's newest additions. He frowned slightly when he didn't spot either of the brothers- maybe they'd decided to spend their first lunch in their dorms?

His attention snapped back to his own table as he heard his name.

"What's with the frown, Anderson?" Thad questioned around a mouthful of fries, earning a wince from everyone else at the table.

Blaine wrinkled his nose slightly at Thad as he finally took a seat, setting his tray down on the table after the other boys made room. "Is it really that impossible for you speak without a mouthful of food?" His lips quirked into a grin despite himself.

Thad pointedly stuffed another fry in his mouth.

Blaine laughed lightly and shook his head, beginning to unwrap his own burger.

"So," Wes began, casually swinging his attention to Blaine. "How'd it go with the new kids? Did they get settled in all right?"

Blaine cut his eyes over to the other boy as he took an admittedly large bite of his burger. He fought the urge to smirk around his food at the disapproving look his action rewarded him from the other boy. To his credit, Blaine responded only once he'd swallowed the mouthful of food.

"I think it'll take a bit of adjusting for them both- Dalton's a lot different from public school." He squinted at Wes. "Though I have a feeling that's not what you wanted to know."

Despite Wes' attempt to look innocent, David confirmed Blaine's suspicion.

"Rumor has it that one of the McKinley brothers played quarterback for his old team." David ignored the dirty look Wes offered him. "Our reserve QB is out for the rest of the season- totally shredded his hamstring during practice yesterday. Coach is throwing a fit."

Blaine raised his eyebrows. "So you want the new kid to take his spot?"

"Well," Wes responded with a frown, "If something happens to Evans we're screwed. No one else is good enough to take over the position."

David shrugged. "It's a valid point."

"You're only saying that because you want him on the team just as bad as Wes does." Thad pointed out helpfully. "Though I don't see why. I checked out McKinley's scores online- they've only won one game all season."

Wes' eyes narrowed at the other boy. "That doesn't mean he can't play. Besides, we just need him as a reserve. Chances are he won't even get that much field time."

"I hope that isn't your sales pitch." Blaine raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Okay, so forgetting Wes and David's unhealthy obsession with football-" Thad smoothly continued, ignoring the other boys' predictable defenses,"-what about the other brother?"

Blaine's own smile slid. "…What about him?"

Thad leveled a look at him. When Blaine still refused to glance up from his burger the other boy simply smacked the sandwich out of Blaine's hands, earning a startled cry from the raven.

"Dammit, Thad- that was my lunch!"

Thad was unfazed. "Well don't ignore me. Now, spill."

Blaine glared. "Spill _what_, Thad?"

Nick chose that moment to take a seat across from Blaine, dropping his tray unceremoniously on the table and falling into his seat. The newcomer didn't even glance up from the book that was in his hand. "Let me guess; Thad's trying to get the scoop on Hummel?"

Blaine's glare shifted from Thad to Nick, though the look lost some of it's intensity as he eyed the boy across from him. He huffed out a sigh and sat back, folding his arms over his chest. "Maybe I should be asking what exactly _you guys _know."

Jeff arrived at the table then, taking the seat next to Nick without missing a beat. "Are we talking about the Hummel kid? I heard he was caught in a house fire and now he doesn't talk."

Nick glanced up from his book, cutting his eyes over to the blonde beside him and staring at him flatly. Jeff didn't notice for a moment. When he did, his eyes widened slightly in bewilderment.

"What?"

Nick only shook his head and went back to his book.

Thad leaned forward in his seat so that his elbows were braced on the table. His eyes were practically dancing now that he had a conspirator. "Really? I heard it was a robbery."

Jeff's eyes widened comically and swung back to Thad. "Are you _serious_?"

"No, he's not." Nick deadpanned. He flipped to the next page of his book.

Blaine, desperately seeking a distraction from Thad's rambling, squinted at the cover of Nick's book to try and see what was managing to hold the other boy's attention. He raised a brow when he recognized the title.

"Dracula again, Nick?"

Jeff leaned back in his seat at that and glanced at the book over Nick's shoulder. He frowned. "Wait. Don't we have an-"

"Exam over the material next hour? Yeah." Nick finished casually.

Jeff swore and sat up straighter, turning to fully face the teen next to him. "Study with me? Please? I'm so screwed. I totally forgot."

"Big surprise there." David offered with a roll of his eyes.

Thad blinked and lifted a hand, snapping to try and regain the others' attention. "Can we get back to the topic at hand, here?" He looked at Blaine squarely. "Was it a fire or a robbery?"

Blaine scowled slightly. "Honestly, Thad? That's not exactly the kind of question I'd ask someone I _just met_."

"Not that Hummel could answer." Jeff added helpfully, glancing up from where he was attempting to read over Nick's shoulder.

He blinked at the collective look he received from the rest of the table.

"I agree with Blaine." Wes straightened and adjusted his tie absently. "Kurt Hummel's business is his own."

"I'm with Wes." David added.

"Big surprise there." Thad scoffed. He perked up suddenly. "Speak of the devil- the first of the McKinley Brothers has arrived."

Blaine turned at the sudden wave of murmurs that swarmed the cafeteria and spotted Finn Hudson hesitating inside the entranceway. He was about to move to greet the boy- he looked rather lost- when another beat him to it.

He watched in amusement as Sam Evans all but tackled the Hudson boy, flinging an arm around the abnormally tall teen's shoulders and dragging him over towards Blaine and the others.

Blaine shook his head in amusement.

"Hey guys." Sam greeted cheerfully as he neared the table, arm still slung around the Hudson boy's shoulders. "This is Finn. Finn, this is everybody."

Finn raised a hand, looking a bit out of his depth but offering a half-grin. "Hey… everybody."

Blaine fought the urge to shake his head in wry amusement. Instead, he offered the other boy a friendly grin. "How's your first day going so far, Finn?"

Finn blinked, clearly just recognizing Blaine. He brightened at the familiar face. "Actually, it's going pretty good." He adjusted the hold on the strap of his bag. "Turns out me and Sam have a lot in common, and he's in most of my classes. So I guess knowing someone's always good."

Sam practically beamed at this, shooting Wes and David a smug wink.

Again, Blaine fought the urge to roll his eyes at his friend's antics.

"That's awesome," He said instead. "How's your brother handling the transition?"

At this, Finn's eyes narrowed. "Can't say. I haven't seen him since we split for classes."

Blaine blinked in surprise at the other boy's tone.

Wesley broke the quickly building tension between the pair. "So do you play football, Finn?" He inquired smoothly, pulling out the chair next to him in an impossibly casual movement.

Blaine and Thad shared a look at their friends' audacity as the rest of the table launched into a heated discussion about football. Thad rolled his eyes fondly and stood with his tray to go dump his trash, pausing as he did so when something caught his eye. He glanced pointedly at Blaine and nodded towards the entryway.

Blaine turned, brow furrowing curiously, and spotted what had drawn Thad's attention.

Kurt Hummel was standing just inside of the Union, one hand clutching the strap of his messenger bag, the other holding his phone as the teen absently toyed with the device. He seemed somehow oblivious to the stir that his arrival had caused.

Kurt finally glanced up when a boy approached him. The change was immediate- his eyes widened in alarm and his body stiffened abruptly as he eyed the boy in front of him with clear distrust.

He looked seconds short of bolting from the cafeteria altogether.

Blaine frowned, standing instinctively and moving across the lunch room towards the other teen.

"Hey Kurt," He greeted a bit more enthusiastically than was called for, causing the other two boys to jump at his sudden appearance.

Blaine blinked when he realized that the teen talking to Kurt was Benjamin Hayes- a boy who was on the soccer team with Blaine. This only mounted his confusion as Ben was possibly the least intimidating person Blaine knew.

Still, there was no mistaking the relief on Kurt's features at Blaine's interruption.

"Hey… Blaine." Benjamin greeted, drawing the syllables out in obvious bewilderment. The blonde was still grinning a bit uncertainly.

Blaine quirked a brow at Benjamin but returned the grin easily, though he shifted his attention back to the new kid without missing a beat. "You looked a bit lost." He explained, voice lightly teasing. "I thought I might come and see if I could be of help."

Kurt glanced between Blaine and Benjamin, expression carefully blanked.

"I was just trying to convince the new kid to come sit with us," Benjamin volunteered brightly, seemingly oblivious to Kurt's wary demeanor. He shifted his hold on his own bag and looked at Blaine expectantly.

This drew a laugh from Blaine, which only earned him a raised brow from the "new kid" in question. "Now I understand why you looked so terrified," he quickly explained.

Kurt's lips quirked reluctantly at this. The brunette clasped his hands in front of him, and Blaine couldn't discern if the action was from habit or nerves.

"Well- are you coming?" It was Blaine's turn to raise a singular brow.

Benjamin shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels, waiting expectantly.

They both watched as Kurt cast an uncertain glance around the cafeteria before finally nodding. He clutched his bag tighter and gestured for them to lead the way with his free hand.

Benjamin needed no further urging and began towards their table, talking a mile a minute about something that had happened to him during French that day. He didn't seem to mind that Blaine and Kurt followed behind him at a more sedated pace.

Blaine fell into step next to Kurt, his chin raised as he feigned an air of nonchalance, his hands clasped behind his back. The other teen's knuckles were turning white from gripping the strap of his bag so tightly- and it did not escape Blaine's notice.

He tipped his head towards Kurt's casually.

"Ben can be a bit much at first- but he's a good guy. A bit of a ditz, though."

Kurt glanced at Blaine from the corner of his eye and, after a moment's hesitation, shook his head in denial.

"Oh no, I assure you it's quite true." Blaine continued airily. "The guy's a beast on the field, but the second the jersey comes off he possesses the grace of a baby giraffe."

Blaine grinned at the begrudgingly amused glance Kurt afforded him.

However, as soon as Kurt noticed where they were heading his stance grew more tense and his expression abruptly closed off. By the time that they had actually reached the rambunctious group, the boy was nearly stone-faced. Blaine wasn't given a chance to wonder at the sudden change. The moment that his friends caught sight of the missing McKinley Brother, they pounced.

"You must be Kurt." Wes greeted amicably.

David glanced up at Wes' words and spotted the newcomer. He nodded towards Kurt and offered a quick grin before turning back to his debate with Thad over football.

Thad perked up at the sound of Kurt's name and paused mid-sentence to greet the transfer. "We saved you a seat, Kurt!"

Even Jeff and Nick looked up from where they were still bent over Nick's copy of Dracula, Nick giving Kurt a small smile and Jeff raising the hand not braced on the back of Nick's chair in a wave.

If possible, Kurt paled further under all of the attention.

Before Blaine could act on the concern that was building in his gut, Finn was standing from where he'd been sitting in the window seat with Sam and was moving around the table towards Kurt. Blaine could only watch as the taller brother came to stand next to Kurt and placed a careful hand on the smaller teen's shoulder. Finn ducked his head so that he could meet Kurt's eyes.

"Let's go get some food, dude. I don't know about you but I'm starved."

It took a beat, but Kurt's gaze lifted to meet his brother's. He nodded dazedly.

Blaine watched the brothers make their way towards the cafeteria without so much as a backwards glance.

There was no missing the way that Finn stood perhaps a bit too close to Kurt, or how the taller brother's body language was maybe a fraction too tense to be anything but unwelcoming.

Thad broke the silence that followed the brothers' departure.

"Are you sure he played QB, Wes? He strikes me as more of a lineman."

Wes, along with everyone else surrounding the group's table, turned to give Thad a disbelieving look.

Thad held up his hands. "Got it- timing. It was bad timing."

Blaine shook his head and snagged his tray from the table. David and Wes rose to do the same, and the three boys gave Thad a look before moving to dump their trays before the McKinley Brothers could return.

* * *

><p>"So how are you holding up?" Finn questioned gently.<p>

He and Kurt were making their way through the mostly-deserted cafeteria line. Unlike at McKinley, there was still plenty of food to be had after the initial lunch rush had passed- a fact that Finn was very much relieved to note.

He was also more than a bit thrilled when he realized that Dalton's food didn't resemble slop in the slightest- in fact, it looked better than half of the menu at Breadstix. And in Finn's book, Breadstix was gourmet cuisine.

Kurt shrugged noncommittally, eying the food selection before him in disinterest.

Finn sighed and reached around Kurt. He snagged a pre-made salad and dumped it unceremoniously on the younger teen's tray.

"Do you at least like your classes? I thought one of my teachers was speaking Greek for the entire hour- then Sam told me after that it was actually Latin. I didn't think people actually knew that stuff anymore. Aside from die-hard Harry Potter fans and doctors, at least."

Kurt shook his head and allowed a tiny tilt to his lips. His head was angled slightly towards Finn to indicate that he was still listening to the other teen, but his attention was on the selection of salad dressings in front of him.

Finn fought another sigh as he began to add food to his own plate.

Once the contents of Finn's plate were threatening to spill out onto his tray, he finally led the way towards the cashier where he paid for his and Kurt's food with the money that Burt had given him that morning. The brothers then made their way back towards the table of Sam and the others.

"If you start feeling uncomfortable or anything, Kurt, just let me know and we'll go sit somewhere else." Finn offered quietly as they neared the table. He glanced at Kurt to find the younger boy regarding him curiously. Finn blinked. "What?"

Kurt shook his head and hesitantly claimed one of the empty seats at the table. He hadn't even set down his tray before Finn was slumping into the chair next to his.

Blaine, David, and Wes returned moments later.

"Oh, good. They didn't run you off." Blaine remarked jovially as he reclaimed his former seat.

David and Wes moved to sit in the window seat with Sam as the brothers had unknowingly taken their vacated chairs.

Kurt shook his head once, glancing from his salad to the boy across from him.

Blaine offered him a tiny, warm smile.

Jeff sat back with an abrupt groan, drawing the table's attention as he scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "Forget it- I'm going to fail," He huffed.

Nick sighed in annoyance and sat his book aside. "No, you're not." He gave the other boy a flat look. "Stop being dramatic."

"How am I being dramatic?" Jeff demanded in bewilderment.

Nick arched an eyebrow. "Do I really need to answer that?"

Jeff's expression melted into a scowl. "I hate you."

"Of course you do."

When Nick failed to rise to the taunt, Jeff's scowl only deepened as he slumped further down in his chair.

Blaine raised an eyebrow at the pair's antics.

The table dissolved into several different conversations. Once Jeff realized that Nick wasn't going to give him any sympathy for his sulking, the blonde insisted that the other boy quiz him over their impending literature test. The others were once again caught up in a heated football debate- when it was discovered that, like Blaine and Sam, Finn was a fan of Ohio State, all out war had broken out between the football enthusiasts of the table.

Kurt simply sat back and watched the madness with slightly wide eyes, his salad forgotten and untouched in front of him.

* * *

><p>"Hey there, new kid."<p>

Kurt blinked and lifted his gaze, spotting a familiar blonde moving across the classroom to take a seat in the desk next to Kurt's.

After a moment, Kurt remembered the boy's name to be Jeff.

Jeff dropped his bag next to the desk before sliding into his seat, twisting so that he could face Kurt. "Last class of the day, man- you've _almost _survived your first day at Dalton." He grinned brightly.

Kurt nodded.

"So how are you liking it so far?"

Kurt tilted his head, considering. He flicked open the notebook on his desk and scrawled out a response before tilting the paper so Jeff could see.

_It's different. Good different, I think._

Jeff blinked at the paper in surprise before grinning, obviously delighted at the opportunity to actually have a conversation with the other boy. He quickly scanned the paper.

"You think?" He teased, moving his bangs from his eyes with a toss of his head.

Kurt shrugged.

"Too early to tell?"

At this, Kurt nodded. He glanced away from Jeff towards the front of the class, clearly growing a bit uncomfortable to be the recipient of Jeff's undivided attention. The blonde teen didn't seem to notice.

"That's understandable," Jeff allowed, sitting back in his seat and tapping his pen against his unopened notebook. "It can take a while to get settled into things around here. Me? I loved this place the second I walked through the door." He glanced briefly at the door as if looking for someone. "My buddy Nick- he ate with us at lunch? You know, shorter, shaggy brown hair, book attached to his hand?" At Kurt's affirmative nod, he continued. "Nick took to Dalton a little slower. He's quiet, y'know?"

Again, Kurt could only nod. His head was actually begin to ache from all of the nodding Jeff's presence apparently required. His eyes cut towards Jeff's hand, where the blonde was still rhythmically tapping his pen against his own notebook.

Kurt's fingers itched to swipe the writing device from the other boy and chuck it into the nearby trash bin.

Thankfully, though, Jeff was distracted at that moment when the person he was apparently waiting for came through the class door.

Kurt blinked.

Nick. It figured.

Nick moved to take the still-empty desk in front of Jeff and sank into his seat, dropping his bag next to his feet and twisting to face Jeff all in one, smooth movement.

"Did you swipe my worksheet, Barnes?"

Jeff blinked innocently. He was fighting a grin as he flicked open his notebook and held up a neatly folded piece of paper for the other boy's scrutiny. "I don't know what you mean, dude."

Nick's eyes narrowed without heat. Kurt noticed that the brunette was fighting a grin of his own as he snatched the worksheet from Jeff's hand.

"Steal my homework _one _more time, Jeff. I dare you."

Jeff's eyebrows flew to his hairline. "Is that a threat I sense?"

"Try me and find out." Nick deadpanned.

Kurt dropped his gaze to his open notebook in an effort to keep a straight face.

The professor arrived a moment later, cutting Jeff and Nick's banter short as the petite woman strode past the trio and took her place at the front of the room. The classroom instantly fell silent.

Thankfully, this professor didn't seem to feel the need to force Kurt through another awkward introduction and instead launched right into her lecture.

Once Nick and Jeff were both facing forward, Kurt took a moment to scrutinize each of the teens curiously.

Dalton was nothing like he had expected.

* * *

><p>By the time that Kurt was able to return to his dorm that afternoon, he was ready to fall face-first into his unmade bed and sleep for the remainder of the week.<p>

Dalton was _nothing _like McKinley.

For starters, the curriculum was of an entirely different caliber than Kurt was used to. Dalton's classes were more advanced than most of his AP classes at his old school, and Kurt found he actually had to pay close attention to the lectures to even have a slight clue as to what was being discussed. Sure, that was partially because he was new to the classes- but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that in time he'd be able to start slacking off either.

Even Jeff, who seemed to frequently bum his homework off of Nick, actually took diligent notes during class and seemed unfazed when the professor would call on him to answer a question at random. After their class together, Kurt suspected that the blonde teen actually was much more intelligent than he tried to make others believe.

The most staggering difference at Dalton, however, was the student body. Kurt had been greeted countless times throughout the day by random people in the halls. Furthermore, he hadn't heard a single taunt from any of the boys as he had passed them. Sure, he received a fair share of sideways glances and curious looks throughout the day- but none of the students had been anything less than polite.

Kurt paused at the door to his dorm to knock lightly, unsure whether or not his roommate would be inside just yet.

He'd yet to meet the other teen he'd be sharing a room with, but the glimpse of his roommate's half of the room certainly had put a knot in Kurt's stomach. Blaine had shown Kurt to his dorm earlier that morning- and the first thing that he'd noticed about his new quarters were the football posters and trophies that decorated the occupied half of the room.

From the looks of things, Kurt would be rooming with a jock.

Now, as Kurt pushed open the door to his dorm, he felt his stomach drop to somewhere around his feet as he spotted the letterman's jacket thrown over the chairs to one of the two desks in the room.

A second later, he spotted the owner of said jacket.

The other boy turned upon hearing the door opening and greeted Kurt with a wide, familiar, grin.

"Hey!" Sam greeted cheerfully, turning fully to face Kurt and shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I was about to go send out a search party- I thought you'd gotten lost." His smile cued Kurt into the fact that he was being teased.

Kurt shrugged stiffly and moved to set his books down on the second desk, which happened to be the closer of the two.

Sam regarded him a moment before seeming to remember something. He brightened and moved to his own desk, fishing something from his bag before turning and presenting it to Kurt proudly.

Kurt blinked at the dry erase board owlishly.

"Uh, I talked to Jeff earlier and he said that you use your notebook to talk when you need to." Sam explained a bit awkwardly, his grin wavering just slightly. "I figured that- y'know, since we're going to be rooming together and all- that you might want something a little more practical. At least you won't kill as many trees using this thing, right?"

Kurt finally lifted his gaze from the dry erase board to meet Sam's uncertain eyes. He hesitated a beat before extending a hand to take the offering, gaze dropping from Sam's once more.

Sam quickly fished a marker from his back pocket and presented it as well. From the corner of his eye, Kurt could tell that the boy's grin was still firmly in place.

Kurt took the board and marker, gaze flicking back up to meet Sam's for only a beat before he turned the board towards himself and uncapped the marker with his teeth. He quickly scribbled a response across the white board before holding it up for Sam to read.

_Thank you. _

Sam's grin widened at the simple message that Kurt had underlined for emphasis.

"No problem, man. I'm just glad you like it." He shifted on his feet a bit awkwardly. "I was kind of afraid you'd think I was being a douche for buying it, but I know you don't really talk and-"

Kurt lifted his gaze to Sam's again, this time arching a singular eyebrow.

Sam blushed and combed his bangs down over his forehead as he glanced at his feet in embarrassment. "That probably sounded rude. I'm sorry." He peaked at Kurt through his bangs. "I'm really bad at sticking my foot in my mouth, man. It's a curse."

Kurt, for the first time that day, allowed a tiny, genuine smile and shook his head.

He turned the board to face him again and swiped the side of his palm across the surface to clear his previous message before scribbling a new one and presenting it to Sam.

_My step-brother is much worse, I promise._

"Finn?" Sam questioned, lifting his head and grinning timidly.

Kurt nodded.

This drew a small laugh from the other boy. Sam shook his bangs from his eyes and moved to sit on the edge of his bed again, falling back on the mattress with his arms spread on either side of him.

"I don't know about you dude, but I'm _wiped. _Practice today was torture, and then there was this test in Calculus-"

Kurt listened to Sam ramble on with half an ear, turning his attention to the pile of boxes that were stacked between the foot of his bed and the desk across from it. His shoulders slumped.

All he really wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep the week away- perhaps even the entire month. However, there was no ignoring the pile of boxes taunting him from the corner, or the bare walls that surrounded the unmade bed. He knew himself well enough to know that he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep until he'd made a sufficient nest of his new quarters.

Kurt also knew himself well enough to safely say that making that nest would take the better half of a day.

He let his eyes slide closed in defeat.

It took a moment for him to notice the lull in Sam's one-sided conversation.

"Hey, man," Sam spoke carefully, sitting up once more. "You alright?"

Kurt's tensed shoulders gave him away.

Sam pushed to his feet and moved across the room to stand next to him. The other teen had the grace to pretend not to notice that Kurt's eyes had grown suspiciously wet.

When Sam spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle. "C'mon. I'll help you unpack."

* * *

><p>Preview: Next up, Sebastian finally elects to make an appearance. Kurt and Finn work to find a routine at their new school, and the Dalton boys' curiosity gets the best of them. Stay tuned!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 Part 1

Author's Note: Alright, guys. I apologize in advance for the length of this chapter. Sebastian decided to be- well, true to himself- and ended up refusing to work with me all week. I've probably rewritten this chapter seven times and I'm still not happy with it.

Still, I wanted to get _something_ out on time, so I decided to just make this chapter a little shorter- quality over quantity, I guess. If Sebastian should decide to work with me in the next couple of days I'll go ahead and post the second part of this chapter sometime mid-week.

A quick note. Sometime in the next few weeks I may be changing the title of this fic. Originally I was going for a play on words with "Somewhere Only We Know," but I've started feeling a little generic so I may change it in the near future. So if you've added the story to your alerts and you find an alert for a strange, different title in your inbox- don't worry, it's just me.

Finally, I wanted to thank everyone for the response this story's gotten. You guys are seriously amazing and are the _only_ reason that this chapter is going up tonight.

Anyways, on with the story!

**Chapter Three**

Sebastian had hardly set foot on Dalton campus before Blaine found him.

"Sebastian! I'm so glad I caught you-"

He blinked and turned slightly at the sound of his name. He easily spotted the raven haired teen hurrying across the parking lot towards him. Sebastian's lips tilted into an easy, leer of a grin as he paused to wait for the other boy.

"I have to say, Anderson," he drawled as Blaine neared, "I wasn't actually expecting you to miss me quite this much- but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it."

Blaine rolled his eyes and finally stopped in front of Sebastian, though the responding grin tugging at his lips betrayed his amusement. "Glad to see that Paris didn't go to your head, Smythe." His eyes flicked towards the pair of duffle bags slung over Sebastian's shoulders. "I needed to catch you before you headed to class- I'm guessing I succeeded?"

Now it was Sebastian's turn to roll his eyes. "I haven't even made it to my room, Blaine," he replied dryly as he shifted his hold on his luggage pointedly. He managed to fish his dorm key from his pant pocket and raised a brow at Blaine expectantly. "… Can we do this and walk?"

Blaine flushed a bit at that. "Sorry, of course. Here, let me help with that." He didn't wait for a response before stealing one of Sebastian's bags and hefting it over his own shoulder. "I didn't actually mean to ambush you, man. It's just been a crazy week."

This earned a raised eyebrow from Sebastian. "Do tell."

"Well," Blaine began, falling into step alongside Sebastian as they continued to make their way across the parking lot, "We got a couple of new transfers this week- two brothers, actually. One of them is a boarder in your hall."

Sebastian glanced at Blaine. "And you're so worked up about this… why, exactly?"

Again, Blaine flushed. "I'm not- _worked up_. It's actually a-"

"Wait." Sebastian stopped abruptly and eyed Blaine. "Do you have a crush on the new guy? Is that what this is about?"

He smirked as Blaine began to stammer out a protest. "I-what? No! It's not like- Sebastian. Just let me talk." Now the shorter teen was scowling at Sebastian, but the look was ineffective. Blaine Anderson was as intimidating as a baby squirrel. "As I was saying- Sebastian, come _on_. We're barely going to make breakfast as it is."

Sebastian just shook his head, still smirking mischievously as he obediently fell back into step with Blaine.

"Anyways," Blaine continued again, all but huffing out the word, "The two transfers are brothers from a school over in Lima." He hesitated, and when the raven finally seemed to find the words he was searching for, they were spoken slow and careful. "There are special circumstances surrounding the situation that made the brothers transfer that you need to be aware of before you meet either of them."

Sebastian huffed out a bewildered laugh. "Alright?" he allowed uncertainly, only once it became clear that Blaine was waiting for some sort of signal before continuing with his explanation.

When Blaine still failed to go on, Sebastian finally spared a glance at his companion. His own grin slid as he noticed how Blaine's thick brows had furrowed into a thoughtful frown, his eyes turned to the ground without seeming to really focus on anything. Sebastian, ever impatient, simply prodded further. "Blaine."

Blaine glanced at him from the corner of his eye and shook his head. "Not out here," he finally replied at length, shifting his hold on Sebastian's duffle. He forced his expression into a playful grimace in an attempt to lighten the moment. "-Did you really have to pack your entire wardrobe for a two-week trip?"

For now, Sebastian allowed the deflection.

"It's all about options, Anderson."

This earned a groan of laughter from the raven. "Why do I get the feeling we aren't talking about shirts anymore?"

"Only if it involves losing them," Sebastian smirked. He paused to unlock the door to his dorm.

Once the pair was inside Blaine set Sebastian's duffle on his bed before claiming the nearby desk chair. He swiveled so that he was once again facing the other boy.

Sebastian let his own bag drop unceremoniously at his feet. "Alright," he drawled, arms outstretched at his sides, "Spill it."

Blaine's lips pursed, but this time he complied.

"Something… happened before the brothers moved here. I'm honestly not sure what, but whatever it was- one of them was traumatized and doesn't speak." He lifted his eyes to meet Sebastian's, gaze unnervingly steady. "Jeff says that he uses a notebook to communicate when he needs to. The other brother is extremely protective of him as well, so don't do anything st-"

Sebastian cut the other off with a scowl. "Seriously, Blaine?" His tone was biting. "I'm not a _complete_ jackass." The look Blaine offered was hardly impressed. Sebastian's lips twitched reluctantly. "Well, not when it matters," he allowed.

Blaine's response was instant.

"This matters."

If Sebastian were startled by the intensity behind the simple statement, he didn't allow it to show. He instead offered his companion a cocky grin and drawled, "Alright, fine. I'll play nice with the new kids. Was there anything else?"

Clearly, Blaine wasn't done. "Don't make this into some kind of joke, Sebastian. Kurt's-"

"Kurt?"

Had Blaine not been so wound up, he might have noticed the change in Sebastian's tone. As it were he simply nodded. "Your boarder. His name's Kurt Hummel."

* * *

><p>Before his first week at Dalton was out, Kurt found himself falling into a sort of routine.<p>

Generally, Kurt would be one of the first boys in the hall in the community showers- a fact which he relished. He could take his time in the shower and use all of the hot water he wished, and on most mornings he was lucky enough not to cross anyone's path on his way to or from the shower rooms.

Kurt had never been more thankful to be an early riser.

By the time that he'd return to his dorm, Sam's alarm would generally be buzzing incessantly from it's place on the blonde's desk. Sam, in turn, would generally have his head buried beneath a pile of pillows as he slept on undisturbed. Kurt had taken it upon himself to rouse the teen so that he wouldn't miss practice.

He figured it was the least he could do. Sam had been unfailingly accommodating to Kurt, and equally as kind. Kurt felt that the small favor was more than earned.

About the same time that Sam would stumble out the door for practice, Finn would appear at Kurt's room to walk to breakfast with him, where they would meet up with the other boys who weren't involved in early morning sports practices- Nick, Thad, and a boy named Connor. The five of them would work on homework as they ate, and for the most part there wasn't much conversation until the rest of the boys joined them from practice.

A half-hour until class started, Sam, Wes, David, Jeff, and Blaine would find their way to the table, all complaining about their respective practices. While Sam and David played football, the other three were part of Dalton's soccer team.

Kurt would simply observe the others as they talked animatedly amongst themselves.

It only took a matter of minutes after the boys sat down before Wesley and David immersed themselves in some sort of heated debate, which they would eventually drag Blaine into the middle of, much to Blaine's apparent chagrin. Nick and Jeff would unfailingly dissolve into their own quiet conversation while Jeff demolished a plate piled high with food. Nick would often make faces at Jeff's eating habits, and often chose to ignore the blonde in favor of whatever book happened to have caught the brunette's attention that morning. Thad would interject his opinion into whatever conversation happened to catch his interest- whether those opinions were actually welcome or not. Connor would simply tune them all out with his iPod.

Eventually the discussions would invariably drift towards sports, which managed to draw most of the boys from their respective conversations and into yet another heated debate- which had ended in egg throwing on more than one occasion.

The eggs were thankfully scrambled.

Amongst the madness that had become Kurt's average morning, he had noticed on more than one occasion the wistful expression Finn adopted anytime the other boys would talk about their morning practices- or sports in general, really.

It didn't take a genius to realize that Finn was desperately missing football.

On Thursday morning, as Wes and Sam began to argue over what Kurt _assumed _were NFL teams, he finally called his brother on it.

Finn blinked as Kurt slid his open notebook across the table so that it bumped Finn's knuckles, drawing the older brother's attention. Finn glanced down at the paper. His brow furrowed as he read the neatly scrawled message presented to him.

_If you miss football so much, why don't you ask to try out?_

Finn glanced at the others suspiciously, as if afraid that Kurt had somehow drawn the rambunctious group's attention to the paper (which, admittedly, wasn't that hard to do-the other boys were surprisingly accommodating to Kurt's means of communication). However, Blaine had finally arrived at the table at that moment and had effectively distracted the other boys.

Finn chewed his lower lip for a moment before gesturing for Kurt to hand him his pen.

Kurt frowned a bit but did so. He watched as Finn casually scribbled out a response beneath Kurt's own neat handwriting before passing the notebook back.

_Its midseason dude. Besides I dont really know any of these guys well enough to ask._

Kurt raised his eyebrows at that. He held out his hand for his pen without looking up from the notebook. When he felt the object press into his palm, he closed his hand around it and quickly wrote out a reply.

_You're friends with Sam. More than that, Wes has been dropping hints all week that they need a spare quarter back. I'm guessing that's a position. _

When Kurt slid the notepad over to Finn and the other boy glanced down, Finn snorted in amusement.

Kurt's eyes narrowed and he placed the pen back on the notebook with a bit of a slap. He knew Finn well enough to know when the teen was laughing at his expense. It was the product of years' experience, after all.

Finn's lips were still quirked in a wry grin as wrote out a response.

_Its a reserve quarterback dude. You were close tho. I dunno… maybe I'll ask. _

Kurt read over his step-brother's response, lips pursing. He shot Finn a glance before he pointedly turned the page and quickly scribbled something down.

Before Finn had a chance to lean over and see what Kurt had written, Kurt had slid the notebook to the center of the table.

Nick was the first to notice the notebook, glancing up from his book when the flash of paper caught his eye. He blinked at it before rapping his knuckles against Jeff's shoulder to get the other teen's attention. Jeff blinked and glanced back at Nick, then followed Nick's gaze when the brunette only nodded.

Jeff twisted in his seat when he noticed the notebook and leaned forward, snagging it and pulling it towards him before Finn had a chance to try and read it upside down. Nick peered over the blonde's shoulder.

Jeff's lips quirked in amusement. He glanced up from the paper to Kurt, then at Finn. He slowly grinned. "Hey Wes, your dreams are about to come true." His voice lilted mischievously.

Wes paused in his discussion with David to glance over at Jeff. The Asian boy regarded the blonde warily. "And why might that be?"

Jeff simply pushed the notebook over to Wesley.

Wes leaned forward to read the message written there- then his face abruptly lit up in something reminiscent of a child on Christmas.

Wes and David spoke as one. "You want to try out for the football team?" They demanded of Finn excitedly.

Finn's eyes widened comically.

Sam blinked. "Dude, you should have said something!" He smacked Finn's arm harmlessly. "We've been trying to drop hints all week!"

Kurt folded his arms smugly and shot his brother a look.

"I-" Finn stammered, glancing shiftily between the others at the table before settling on shooting Kurt a weak glare. "-I didn't think it was an option." He shrugged at last.

Kurt didn't bother fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Of course it's an option!" David exclaimed, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table in front of him. "Dude, you were QB at your old school, right?"

Finn squinted skeptically. "Yeah, but we never _won_ anything."

"That's not entirely true," Thad offered around the French toast he was stuffing in his mouth. "You won _one_ game."

Finn waved a hand as if that proved his point.

The table once again dissolved into a debate over football, though this time it was over McKinley's football program and coach Tenaka's rather pitiful training. Kurt fought a sigh and propped his chin in his palm as he fiddled idly with his pen, zoning out.

He was getting _really _tired of all the football talk.

He had just pulled out his phone to pull up a game of Temple Run when someone slid into the empty seat on Kurt's other side, drawing his attention. He glanced over distractedly.

The newcomer offered him a lazy smirk.

"Hey there, Gayface."


	4. Chapter 3 Part 2

Author's Note: Alright, here's the second part of Chapter 3. It's going to be pretty short as well, but please remember that it's only part of a chapter. I'm hoping to get a full chapter up sometime during the next week. Obviously, I've gotten a little off posting schedule in the past week, but it's time for midterms and all of that. Things are a little hectic!

As always, thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing. I'm still in shock over the response this story's gotten so far. You're all _amazing_.

**Somewhere Only We Know**

_The table once again dissolved into a debate over football, though this time it was over McKinley's football program and coach Tenaka's rather pitiful training. Kurt fought a sigh and propped his chin in his palm as he fiddled idly with his pen, zoning out._

_He was getting really tired of all the football talk._

_He had just pulled out his phone to pull up a game of Temple Run when someone slid into the empty seat on Kurt's other side, drawing his attention. He glanced over distractedly._

_The newcomer offered him a lazy smirk._

_"Hey there, Gayface."_

**Chapter 3.2**

Finn surged out of his chair, leaning across the table and dragging the newcomer from his chair with a fist curled in the other boy's blazer. "Don't you talk to him like that," he snarled angrily.

Blaine was standing as well, his expression absolutely livid. He came around the table to push the two boys apart roughly and immediately turned on the newcomer. "What is the matter with you, Sebastian?"

Nick moved over to Kurt with Jeff only a half-step behind him.

Sebastian just let out a huff of laughter, ignoring Blaine's betrayed scowl. The brunette didn't get a chance to respond, though, since Kurt suddenly stepped between the two boys to reach for his abandoned notebook. He scribbled something, quick and angry, before turning on Sebastian and shoving the paper into the brunette's chest.

Sebastian caught the notebook, lips twisting in wry amusement as he glanced down to scan the paper.

_What is your __problem__?_

Kurt's face flushed angrily when Sebastian's lips twitched in belittling amusement. "Is this really how you have conversations, new kid?" He held up the notebook pointedly. "Not exactly what you'd call efficient, is it?"

"Sebastian," Wes snapped, now rising as well. His tone was impossibly dark. "That's enough."

"Walk away," David added coolly, glancing uneasily between the group of boys and a table of teachers nearby who had taken an interest in the ruckus Sebastian's behavior has raised.

Kurt held his ground, chin lifted as he stared down the other teen. His temper only flared as Sebastian's smirk widened in response.

"Alright, alright," Sebastian relented lazily, holding his hands up in apparent surrender and taking a step back from Kurt. It was clear to anyone watching that the brunette was on the verge of laughter. "You can call your guard dogs off, new kid. I just thought I would come and introduce myself. After the fuss that your boyfriend Blaine made about you this morning, I was expecting…" he trailed off with a wry smirk. "Well, it doesn't matter now."

He turned, flicking two fingers in a parting wave. "I'll catch you later, boys."

Kurt glared after the other boy, face still flushed in both anger and humiliation. Behind him, he felt Finn remain tensed and knew without looking that his step-brother's expression was absolutely thunderous.

An awkward silence fell over the group of boys, and Jeff was the one to finally break it.

"And that, gentlemen, was Sebastian Smythe."

xxx

Sebastian claimed his seat in his third period Anatomy class, dropping his book bag by his chair and sliding into the seat smoothly. He shifted so that his left ankle rested on his right knee, slouching slightly so that his long legs would actually fit under the desk. His phone vibrated once from its place on his Anatomy book and Sebastian lifted the device boredly, flicking his thumb across the phone's face to unlock it and pulling up his newest text message.

He glanced up when Nick took his usual seat in front of him.

Nick wasted no time in twisting in his chair and offering Sebastian a disapproving frown.

Sebastian punched out a put-upon sigh. "You know I can only handle one lecture during the frame of an hour, Nick, and since I'm already behind in Anatomy…"

"That's your own fault for running off to France for two weeks," Nick dismissed, "What the hell is your beef with the new kid, Smythe?"

"Who says I have a beef with him?"

Sebastian returned his attention to his phone, pretending to be texting if only for an excuse to tune out Nick's lecture. The effort was of course fruitless, but Sebastian wasn't about to let the other boy know that.

"At this point?" Nick pretended to consider the question for a moment, tilting his head in thought before nodding as he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. "I'd say about two-thirds of the school."

"Two-thirds, huh?" Sebastian drawled disinterestedly, "I think I'm insulted I haven't convinced the entire student body yet."

"You would be."

Sebastian smirked reluctantly at that, glancing at Nick momentarily.

"Seriously, man," Nick shifted a bit closer, his expression shifting into a concerned frown. "What was that this morning?"

Sebastian shrugged. "Just because the rest of you are standing in line for a chance to hump the new kid's leg doesn't mean that the rest of us share the sentiment."

Nick leveled him a look. "Do you have any idea how ironic that statement is coming from you?"

"I think I have an idea." Sebastian offered a tight-lipped smile.

At that moment the object of their conversation chose to walk into the classroom, clutching the strap of his book bag nervously as he made his way down the aisle towards the empty chair on Nick's left.

Sebastian's jaw set.

The new kid didn't bother to look up from his shoes until he was setting his bag down on the desk, and only then it was to offer Nick an unsteady smile in greeting. Sebastian's eyes narrowed when Nick only twisted to face Kurt and returned the grin in kind.

"Hey, Kurt," Nick greeted warmly, smile still firmly in place. "I'm surprised you actually found your way back here. Don't you usually get lost between Sanders' class and this one?"

Kurt shot Nick a playful glare, but it was without heat. Sebastian watched as the new kid sank elegantly into his seat and folded his legs- like a girl- before flipping to a fresh page in the notebook on his desk and quickly scribbling out a response before turning the page for Nick's inspection.

_It's not my fault that your map is awful, Nick. _

Nick's grin widened. "I told you to go talk to Wes or David about getting a better version. Wes is really into maps and stuff- he could probably actually draw you one that at least _resembles_ Dalton."

Kurt grimaced at the suggestion.

"Oh, they're not that bad," Nick consoled teasingly, "They just think they're hot because they're seniors."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Tell me that the new kid isn't afraid of the stooges."

Nick and Kurt both glanced at Sebastian at that. Nick's expression was slightly wary whereas the new kid was openly glaring at him. Apparently Sebastian's presence had escaped Kurt's notice up until now.

Nick glanced at Kurt, gauging his reaction as he spoke a bit slowly, "I wouldn't say he's scared, just-"

Kurt held up his notebook, his expression a bit too-disinterested as he tilted it towards Sebastian without looking at him. Clearly, Kurt was still sore about the comment concerning his means of communication.

Sebastian tilted his head in order to read the other boy's neat cursive.

_Upperclassmen tend to be dicks._

He punched out a surprised laugh and immediately wished that he could take the sound back. Kurt's glare had only narrowed and Nick was giving Sebastian another wary once-over.

"In the off-chance that that comment is aimed at me, new kid- I'm a junior, just like you. Ergo the reason that I'm in this drag class," Sebastian drawled, sitting back in his chair with a lazy smirk. "But as for Wes and David?"

He waited a beat, weighing his words as he gauged Hummel's expression. The boy was still watching him narrowly, but his frown had lessened.

"They're harmless."

Sebastian turned his attention back to his phone then, lips tilting into a leer of a smirk as he reads through the text awaiting him. He didn't bother looking up to see Hummel's response even when he saw the notebook lift from the corner of his eye.

Sebastian's five seconds of civility were over for the day.


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note: So… how many people thought I'd dropped this story? It's okay- you can be honest.

Let this update be the first assurance that _no, _I haven't abandoned SOWK. However, this story is fairly complicated at the moment (oh I know it doesn't appear that way, just hush, it's complicated in my _head_ where I'm trying to plan things out) so it takes a bit to actually force myself to sit down and write an update.

More to the point, I keep getting a little caught up in my other story, so I keep getting distracted. Never fear, though! School's out now and I'm hoping to have more time to write (or more energy?) so I hope to get updates out much more regularly. At the very least you can plan on getting a monthly update on this.

Oh! I have a tumblr now! If you haven't heard, I'll be using it to post bonuses and extras on the fics that I'm working on. And y'know, just fangirling over Glee and the like. Go check it out!

xblessthefall[dot]tumblr[dot]com

**Somewhere Only We Know**

Chapter Four

Kurt went to sleep that night still fuming over Sebastian's utter lack of civility—or human decency, if one were to be frank—but when he awoke only a half hour later, Sebastian Smythe was the farthest thing from his mind.

Kurt bolted upright in bed and struggled to breathe past the stench of blood and gasoline that had followed him from his nightmares into the waking world. His chest was heaving, the cold sweat that had overtaken him caused the sheets pooled at his waist to stick to every bit of skin they touched, and try as he might, he couldn't get his eyes to focus. He fought desperately to free himself from the tangle of sheets ensnaring his arms and legs.

By the time that he found his feet, Kurt had begun to claw at his chest and throat as he struggled to draw a full breath. He could feel his blunt nails leaving angry marks against his skin, could feel the phantom sting of each scratch and yet somehow couldn't force his hands to still. The pain did nothing to draw him from his panic.

Miraculously, Sam slept on unaware in the bed on the other side of the room—the same as he somehow always did.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Kurt knew that he should wake Sam, should send him out after Finn or a teacher. Something, anything. Kurt knew damned well that he had worked himself into a full-blown panic attack by now. He even remembered what his shrink had told him to do in situations such as this. He certainly recalled dad's orders to immediately hunt down Finn or an adult when Kurt felt himself slipping like this.

Kurt knew what he was supposed to do.

Instead, he fumbled with the door handle leading into the hallway, and the instant he managed to pull open the bedroom door he began to run.

xxx

One of the best things that Sebastian had discovered about being an RA was the ability to come and go across campus as he pleased. If he were out after curfew and happened across a faculty member, he could simply claim to be out doing rounds or, if he were to be caught outside of his own hall, he could say that he was running an errand for one of his boarders.

He had even been caught sneaking a date out one evening and all it had taken to smooth talk his way out of _that _one had been to claim that Sebastian had found his companion in one of his boarder's rooms, and the professor had gone so far as to commend Sebastian on his diligent duties as a RA.

So basically, signing up to be a Resident Advisor at Dalton had been one of the smartest moves of Sebastian's life.

Tonight, he had gone out to a nearby bar to 'celebrate' his return to town, and he had even managed to find someone not entirely unfortunate looking to accompany him back to his dorm for a more _private_ celebration. In fact, Sebastian might go as far as to claim that his latest conquest was pretty fucking easy on the eyes. Tanned skin, shaggy brown hair, a strong build, broad shoulders and a trim waist—and the boy wasn't even half-bad at dancing.

It also helped that the boy was currently drunk as hell and doing his best to hump Sebastian's leg while they walked.

"Woah, tiger, how about you save that until we're _actually _in the bedroom?" Sebastian drawled with a smirk, dutifully winding an arm around the other boy's waist to keep him upright as they made their way across the sidewalk towards the dorms. It wouldn't do for his date to fall on his face and knock himself unconscious before Sebastian had at least had the chance to defile him, after all.

The boy—Billy? Bobby? Benny?—was apparently quite the uncoordinated drunk, and already he had managed to nearly faceplant three times since they'd made their way out of the taxi and towards Dalton's grounds.

When he tripped on a crack in the concrete a fourth time, however, Sebastian had finally had enough. He pushed at the boy in annoyance—very nearly sending Billy-boy toppling straight on his ass—and offered him a look of ill-concealed distaste. "Jesus Christ, Benny. I brought you back here to fuck you, not to be your goddamned babysitter. Knock it off or go catch a goddammed cab."

The boy scowled as he caught his footing and actually managed to find his balance enough to straighten and glare at Sebastian. "My name's Billy, you jackass."

Sebastian huffed out a derisive laugh. "Does it matter?"

"Apparently not."

At Billy's sneer Sebastian just shook his head and turned, continuing on towards his door without so much as a backwards glance. "Have fun finding your way back to your corner, Bobby."

Sebastian didn't wait around to hear Benny's response, nor did he acknowledge the curses the other boy was shouting at his back. Instead, he continued across the grounds with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets and his expression twisted into a perpetual scowl.

So much for his chance to unwind tonight.

He was nearing Holcombe Hall when he spotted a figure running along the sidewalk towards him. Sebastian squinted slightly in an effort to discern whoever the runner might be, but the lights illuminating the walkway were doing their usual sub par job, and the most he could make out was that the figure was certainly male.

It took a moment for him to decide whether he should be annoyed or delighted at the chance to flex his authority as a RA, but after Sebastian's rather spectacular parting with BobbyBillyBenny_whatever_, he decided that the curfew breaker was nothing short of a sign that there was indeed a God.

Which meant Sebastian probably owed Nick an apology or seventeen.

"Hey!" His shout echoed across the otherwise deserted school grounds as Sebastian neared the runner. He took no small amount of triumph when the figure visibly started and his stride faltered in surprise. The boy was still too far away for Sebastian to identify, but they at least slowed to a stop at the sound of his voice.

Such quick obedience likely meant that his curfew breaker was a Freshman, maybe a Sophomore at the most. Clearly, this night wasn't going to turn out to be a complete disaster after all.

"What the hell do you think you're doing out of bed? Curfew was three hours ago." Sebastian kept his voice too-loud, half hoping that the sound would stir a faculty member and convince them to investigate the commotion. A commendation for his superb performance as a Resident Advisor would certainly do wonders to improve Sebastian's mood.

His scowl deepened when the other boy visibly tensed—but not from nerves, oh no, even from a distance Sebastian could tell that the set to the kid's shoulders was nothing if not offensive—and he quickly closed the remaining feet between them. " I asked you a question, kid."

He drew up short, blinking in surprise when he finally recognized the other boy.

And then Sebastian's lips tilted into a smirk.

Oh yes. Tonight was _absolutely_ his lucky night.

Kurt Hummel scowled at him, eyes bright in the darkness. The low light from the lamps and the moon overhead caused the boy to look devastatingly ethereal in the moment, his flawless skin all but translucent save for the splash of color across his cheeks and staining his lips. He had clearly been running for some time if only judging by the light sheen of sweat that slicked his skin and caused his clothes to cling in delightfully sinful ways, and his breaths were unsteady and too-deep as he struggled to catch his wind.

Suddenly, Sebastian wasn't so sure if he wanted to destroy the other boy or to maul him. This of course only incensed him further, and before Sebastian was even aware of drawing breath to speak he was verbally flaying the other teen.

"Well what do we have here? Working to keep your girlish figure while everyone else is asleep, are we Hummel?" He flicked his gaze over Kurt's body disdainfully, though secretly Sebastian was using the opportunity to appreciate the fact that Hummel's nightshirt was all but clinging to him like a second skin. "I'm sure bulimia would be the easier option, wouldn't it? Though it might be a little too messy for someone as undoubtedly squeamish as yourself."

Kurt's glare sharpened and he took a step towards Sebastian.

Sebastian's breath caught for a single moment as Kurt opened his mouth to retort, but the other boy's mouth worked wordlessly as he seemed to struggle to find the words he was looking for.

Or the voice to speak them.

Kurt's expression twisted as he flushed in humiliation—the blush that rose to his cheeks was painfully obvious, even in the dim lighting of the street lamps—and he turned his gaze away from Sebastian sharply. His eyes were suspiciously wet, all but fucking glistening in the dark and _fuck _if that didn't tug at something low in Sebastian's stomach, but Kurt's jaw was tight and his shoulders were stiff, and not a single tear escaped.

"You do understand what a curfew is, Hummel?" Sebastian demanded mercilessly. "I'm sure you've never actually _had_ one seeing as it's so utterly incomprehensible that your parents ever felt the need to _give_ you one—let's face it, you have to leave the house before you actually need a curfew, right?—but here at Dalton, things are a little different. We have curfews, and we enforce them."

Kurt was glaring at him again, and maybe it was because of the boy's actual inability to respond that Sebastian kept pushing. Most likely, it was just the fact that Sebastian was in the mood to be a complete jackass. "Seeing as this is your first offense—at least to my knowledge, god only knows what Anderson's let you get up to in by absence—I'm not going to report you. _However_, if I catch you out of your room after hours again I won't hesitate to turn you into the Dean. He's not quite as understanding as I am, you see, and so you'll likely be packing your bags faster than you could say—" Sebastian caught himself, smirking cruelly, "well, you couldn't 'say' anything, could you? Excuse my slip."

Rather than sticking around to hear what _else_ Sebastian was ready to throw at him, Kurt turned abruptly on his heel and began to make his way back to Holcombe without a backwards glance. His spine was painfully rigid and his shoulders tightly set, but it wasn't until Sebastian's gaze fell on Kurt's feet as the boy ascended the steps that he actually felt his throat lock.

The other boy was barefoot, and even in the dim light Sebastian could tell that Kurt's feet were an angry, bloody mess. It was also at that moment, watching Kurt pick his way up the stone steps of the dormitory, that Sebastian realized that the brunette was limping.

Something like guilt curled tight in Sebastian's chest, and after only a moment's hesitation, he quickly moved to follow Kurt.

"Hummel—wait."

Kurt, of course, didn't. If anything his pace quickened as he let himself into the deserted dormitory and made a break for the main staircase. However, even on Kurt's best days Sebastian was faster.

He caught up with Kurt as the other teen was almost halfway up the staircase. Instincts borne of years of lacrosse had Sebastian taking an easy step around Kurt, effectively cutting him off by standing firm on the step above the brunette. The glare that the motion afforded him from the other teen was admittedly fairly impressive. Even if Sebastian would be dead on the floor before he admitted as much.

Now that the pair had moved to the well-lit halls of the dormitory, Sebastian was able to see the dark bruises beneath Kurt's eyes, the way that his face was too pale despite his impromptu marathon, and the way the stiff set of his shoulders was meant to downplay the way the rest of his body shook with exhaustion. Where his eyes had appeared too-bright outside, it was now apparent that they were equally dulled with fatigue.

Sebastian was startled from his scrutiny when Kurt abruptly shoved past him—or tried to—in an attempt to continue up the stairwell. However, Sebastian was once again too quick on his feet (which now seemed almost criminal given his opponent) and easily countered the move with a simple backwards step. He instinctively reached for Kurt's wrist to still him.

He wasn't anticipating Kurt's near-violent reaction to the simple touch. The brunette suddenly swung against Sebastian's grip, using his free arm to elbow Sebastian sharply in the side and at the same time twisting his own body so forcefully that Sebastian's only option was to release Kurt's wrist or risk dislocating the other teen's arm.

Sebastian quickly dropped his hold on Kurt and stumbled back another step, his hand going to his side gingerly. "What the hell was that?" he all but snarled, directing his most scathing glare at the other boy.

Kurt's chest was heaving once again as if he'd run another lap or ten around the grounds and he was cradling his hand to his chest as if Sebastian's touch had burned him. Whatever color his face had been missing moments before had suddenly reappeared with a vengeance. The glare that he was directing at Sebastian did a poor job of masking Kurt's terror.

The breath punched out of Sebastian's lungs like a physical blow.

"Christ, Hummel," he breathed, his voice almost as shaky as Kurt's breathing, "what are you _running_ from?"

Kurt stilled, eyes widening at being caught out.

Sebastian had to curl his hands at his sides to keep from reaching out and snagging the boy's wrist again to ensure that he didn't bolt. His jaw set carefully as he held Kurt's gaze, knowing a challenge when it was presented to him. After a tense moment, Kurt finally glanced away sharply.

He gave a tiny shrug.

Sebastian's scowl returned full-force. "Fine. Come with me," he didn't bother glancing back at Kurt as he gave the order, instead turning and continuing up the steps. When he reached the landing and still hadn't heard the tell-tale creak of floorboards at his heels, Sebastian turned to offer Kurt a most unimpressed glance. "Unless you're planning to camp out on the stairwell, of course."

With that, Sebastian made his way down the hallway and towards his own dormitory.

His room was situated at the farthest end of the corridor on the second floor. It was the only single-occupancy room on the floor, of course, which was undoubtedly meant to make the position of Resident Advisor look all the more appealing to new classmen. However, the real reason behind the private bedroom was for situations where discretion was necessary—when his boarders felt the need to come seek Sebastian out in private, whether in hopes of escaping their troublesome roommates or with whatever other problem was plaguing them on any given day.

Admittedly, the latter reasons were the ones that Sebastian counted as the negatives of the entire arrangement, but he reckoned that occasionally having to play big brother to some whiney freshman was simply the price he had to pay for his freedom. It also didn't hurt that by the second week of classes, most of Sebastian's boarders had already learned to seek out the first floor RA if they were seeking anything other than a verbal lashing.

Blaine was a sap like that.

Sebastian pushed open the door to his dorm when he heard light footsteps hesitating behind him. He still didn't spare a backwards glance as he entered the room and flicked the lights to life unceremoniously, pausing only to shuck off his leather jacket on the nearest surface before dropping onto the futon shoved against the far wall of the fairly-cramped room.

After a moment passed without Kurt making any move to actually enter the room, Sebastian glanced up in annoyance. "For Chrissake, new kid. It's not a fucking lion's den."

Kurt actually arched an eyebrow at that, and even without saying a word Sebastian caught the sarcasm behind the gesture loud and clear. In return, he leveled his most unimpressed look at Kurt until the other boy reluctantly made his way into Sebastian's room.

Sebastian nodded towards his desk chair. "Take a seat," he ignored the scowl Kurt shot him even as the other boy moved to perch carefully on the edge of the indicated chair. "Now—do I have your parents' number on file somewhere?"

The alarm that crossed Kurt's features was enough to cause Sebastian to raise a brow of his own.

"As your RA, I'm required to keep that sort of information on file. However, seeing as I haven't been here for the past couple of weeks I have a feeling that formality was overlooked." Sebastian reluctantly pushed to his feet and headed over towards a file cabinet situated beside his desk. After fishing his keys from his discarded jacket's pocket, he unlocked the cabinet and began to fish through the files in the lowest drawer. Unsurprisingly, he didn't find one labeled with Kurt's name. He glanced at the other boy distractedly. "Does Blaine have the information with his records, by chance?"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance at the glare that Hummel was sending his way.

"I'm sorry, is there a problem?"

Kurt only continued to glare.

Sebastian huffed in annoyance and rose from his crouch. After casting a quick glance around the room he abruptly made his way across the tiny space towards Kurt, and if he were to claim that the surprise that wiped the glare clean from Kurt's face didn't vindicate Sebastian's temper in the slightest, well, he'd he lying.

He placed a steadying hand on the back of the desk chair Kurt was sitting in and reached around the other boy, rifling through the mess spread over his desk before drawing back just as quickly. He dropped a (rather beat up) notebook in Kurt's lap unceremoniously as he pulled away.

Kurt blinked owlishly at the notebook, lifting his gaze to follow Sebastian's movement across the dorm as he searched for his messenger bag. Once Sebastian located the satchel and dug through its contents for a moment, he tossed Kurt a pen to join the notebook. Kurt made no move to catch the pen, either too surprised or too uncoordinated to manage, but Sebastian's aim was true and the writing utensil still landed on the notebook in Kurt's lap.

Kurt hesitantly took hold of the pen and glanced warily between Sebastian and the notebook in his lap.

Sebastian was scowling again. "I'm sorry—I thought that was the archaic means that you used to communicate, Hummel. Should I go find a rock and chisel instead?"

The barb had the desired effect. With another glare, Kurt turned his attention towards the notebook in his lap. He made a show of trying to smooth the ruffled papers before deigning to actually turn to a fresh page and carefully begin to write.

Sebastian wasn't the most patient person at the best of times. He certainly wasn't at three in the goddamned morning.

He moved closer to read over Kurt's shoulder as the other boy wrote out his message, though the instant that he did so the brunette stopped writing altogether in favor of glaring at Sebastian over his shoulder. Sebastian merely returned the glare with one of his own.

"Any time now, Hummel. We do have class in five hours."

Kurt's eyes narrowed and he snorted delicately through his nose—and how the _hell_ does someone "delicately" snort anyways?—but deigned to finish his message.

Sebastian would have had to been both dumb and blind to miss the way that Kurt purposefully took an indecent amount of time to finish penning the note. However, the hour was beginning to get to Sebastian, and he just couldn't be bothered to call the other boy out on it.

Kurt finally tilted the notebook for Sebastian's scrutiny. He didn't even bother to lift the notepad from his lap.

_Is there a particular reason you're asking me about paperwork at 3 a.m.? Or can this wait until tomorrow?_

Sebastian shot Kurt a flat stare. "Do you honestly think I would bother asking at this godforsaken hour if I didn't need that information right now?"

Kurt glanced at Sebastian in order to offer him a glare of his own. Neither boy particularly paid attention to how close their faces had become—possibly because of the hour, or maybe simply because there was nothing vaguely intimate about the moment at hand.

Kurt grudgingly dropped Sebastian's gaze in favor of penning out a response. He didn't even bother to shift the notebook for Sebastian's perusal, knowing good and well that Sebastian could read the message from his place over Kurt's shoulder just fine.

_1. Stop acting like I'm the reason you're awake. You weren't exactly sleepwalking outside._

_2. What could you possibly need with my parents' number that can't wait until morning?_

Sebastian straightened. "I figured they might want to know that their kid was out running his feet bloody at three in the morning." He glanced down at Kurt's feet pointedly. "Speaking of- we need to get you patched up or something. You're bleeding on my carpet."

Kurt's own gaze fell to his feet. He blinked owlishly, as if just realizing the bloody mess that had become of them.

Not that Sebastian particularly noticed. He had already turned and made his way into the tiny, en-suite bathroom attached to his room in search of a rag and his RA-mandatory first aid kit. When he returned to the room with both items in hand he moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

He gestured Kurt closer distractedly.

Kurt, of course, made no move to do as indicated. Sebastian could feel the other boy's eyes on him as he opened the first aid kit and set it aside on the bed next to him while he began to fish out a handful of antiseptic wipes. After a moment of fussing around with the kit's contents he abruptly cut his eyes over to Kurt, catching the other boy watching him and merely arching an eyebrow.

"Come here and give me your fucking foot, Hummel," Sebastian sighed. He made another impatient gesture for Kurt to move the desk chair closer. "The sooner you stop bleeding the sooner I can sleep."

Kurt continued glaring at Sebastian until, with a very put-upon sigh, Sebastian reached out and snagged Kurt's ankle with one hand while using the other to tug the desk chair closer to the bed. Once Kurt was close enough for him to situate the boy's ankle on his knee, Sebastian unceremoniously tore open one of the antiseptic wipes and swiped the cloth over the arch of Kurt's foot.

When the action caused Kurt to hiss and draw back his foot defensively, Sebastian remembered to add, "Oh yeah. This is probably going to sting like fuck," before he tightened his hold around Kurt's ankle and repeated the action. This time, however, he was prepared for Kurt to attempt to jerk away from the stinging touch, and with merely a tighter hold on the other boy's ankle Sebastian manages to keep Kurt's foot in place.

Sebastian goes about cleaning up Kurt's feet as quickly and efficiently as possible- partially because the other boy is clearly uncomfortable and pained by the process, but most because Sebastian is just fucking _tired_. Once Kurt's feet were cleaned and haphazardly wrapped in gauze Sebastian stood, making quick work of the mess of tossing the gauze pads and wrappers in the trash before just dropping the first aid kit to add it to the pile on his desk.

"You can crash over there for tonight," Sebastian nodded towards the futon before sparing a wince at his wording, "-this morning. Whatever. Just take some Tylenol from the kit before you pass out."

At that point, Sebastian was too exhausted to care that Kurt was eying him as if waiting for the punch line to some unspoken joke. He simply walked over to his armoire and tugged his shirt over his head before fishing out a pair of pajama pants to change into.

Rustling from behind Sebastian caught his attention, though, and he did spare a glance over his shoulder in time to see Kurt carefully picking through the still-open first aid kit.

"There's water in the mini-fridge by the desk," Sebastian offered tonelessly, unzipping his jeans before stepping out of them and leaving them to pool on the floor.

He was retying the string on his pajama bottoms when Sebastian realized that he was being watched. He lifted his head and spotted Kurt gaping at him, wide-eyed and stiff-jawed, and only lifted an eyebrow in response.

The action was enough to spur Kurt from his apparent stupor. The brunette flushed and quickly turned, crouching to retrieve a water from the fridge. He pointedly kept his back to Sebastian as he quickly tossed back his medicine and chugged half the bottle of water to wash it down.

Sebastian moved to his bed and shoved the dirty clothes piled on it to the floor before tugging the sheets back and climbing in. As an afterthought, just before he leaned back to settle in for the night, he twisted and snatched a pillow from his headboard and tossed it over to the futon. "Just don't rape me in my sleep."

Even without looking, Sebastian had the distinct feeling that he was being flipped off.

He waited a beat. "-and turn off the light so I can fucking _try_ to sleep."

Sebastian wasn't sure how it was possible, but somehow Kurt managed to translate his responding "_fuck you_" loud and clear when he slapped the lights off and sent the entire room plunging into darkness.

Surprisingly enough, only a moment later Sebastian heard the tell-tale creak of the futon's springs as the other teen settled down onto the cushions gingerly. Whether or not Kurt ever actually _slept_ was a mystery to Sebastian, though, because not too long after Kurt stopped shifting on the futon, Sebastian fell asleep himself.

xxx


End file.
